Except for the impressive £59.99 / $59.99 price tag, the Lazer Chiru’s other headlining feature has to be the inclusion of MIPS rotational impact technology. At this price, it’s one of the least expensive helmets to include the potentially brain-saving tech.
It has an in-mould construction – where the hard polycarbonate shell is a part of the EPS foam liner – and there are 15 vents with internal channelling with two large entry ports above the peak on the front of the helmet.
The lid’s retention cradle, and therefore fit, is adjusted using an indexed thumb wheel on the rear of the lid, dubbed the Turnfit Plus system. The strap has adjustable vertical splitters and is fastened with a standard push-fit clip.
The peak is attached with push fit poppers but isn’t adjustable.
The Lazer Chiru MIPS was awarded five stars out of five in Virginia Tech’s helmet safety impact tests, scoring 13 where a lower score offers better protection.
Lazer Chiru MIPS performance
The Chiru MIPS was exceptionally comfortable to wear, with a well-shaped, neutral fit. There were no hot spots, pressure points or irregularities on the inside of the lid.
The retention system worked well, incrementally and gradually tightening the fit. There were no big steps between ratchet clicks and there was plenty of adjustment to get the fit just right.
It felt secure on my head and didn’t rattle around or bounce when riding over really rough terrain. It doesn’t fit as deeply as Bell’s 4Forty or Smith’s Session, which were also on test, but I never thought that it needed to be deeper to feel more secure.
The indexed thumb wheel had positive clicks when it was turned making it easy to adjust while on the move. The straps were large and comfortable and easy to get tight, too.
Despite the pads not looking especially luxurious, they proved to be comfortable on longer rides and remained that way even when they were soaked in sweat.
They absorbed sweat well to a certain point, but after long periods of riding in the heat or high levels of exertion, they did become saturated without drying out on the fly. This meant sweat did tend to drip down my brow, but because the pads weren’t as thick as something like the Troy Lee Designs A1, they held less moisture, so the dripping was more gradual and therefore less noticeable.
The Chiru is quite hot, especially when I was climbing slowly. It certainly wasn’t as hot as others on test but Lazer could do with revisiting the vent locations and sizes to help improve cooling. It’s not a major issue, though, especially considering the lid’s price.
Although the peak isn’t height adjustable, I didn’t notice it encroaching into my field of vision on the descents, but it was present on the climbs.
I found the helmet’s rim touched some glasses where their arms passed over my ears. This problem was only an issue with thicker armed glasses, so it’s worth checking whether your specs are compatible with the Chiru.
Surprisingly, the Chiru MIPS worked exceptionally well with even large-framed goggles. There was plenty of space beneath the front of the lid and the goggles weren’t pushed down or the helmet pushed up.
Lazer Chiru MIPS bottom line
Despite a few very minor niggles, the Lazer Chiru MIPS is a subtle-looking (in black, at least), seriously comfortable to wear and very safe helmet if the worst were to happen. If I was going to buy a new helmet, this is where I’d be spending my money.
Product
| Brand | lazer |
| Price | 60.00 GBP,60.00 USD |
| Weight | 363.0000, GRAM (M) - as tested |
Features
| br_MIPS | yes |
| br_helmetType | mountain_bike_open_face |
| Features | Sizes: S, M, L Vents: 15 Features: Turnfit Plus system Colours: Black, White |
